The introduction of a radically-revamped Mercedes car at the forthcoming Spanish GP has been depicted as a make-or-break lifeline for Michael Schumacher in his second incarnation as a F1 driver.

The revamps include a substantial aerodynamic upgrade and a significantly longer wheelbase. The effect of this will be to provide greater front-end grip and, it is hoped, will help dial out the understeer that has so severely hindered Schumacher in the first four races of his return to the sport.

While the official line from Mercedes is that the new car is being introduced to rectify a weight distribution imbalance - "We got the weight distribution wrong. When we got to test these tyres we realised we didn't have the correct weight distribution and we went to the limit with what we could achieve with this car" team boss Ross Brawn has explained to Autosport - the revamp has inevitably been depicted as a make-or-break attempt to cure Schumacher's all-too evident struggles.

"If the new car doesn't deliver the characteristics Schumacher says he needs to be competitive, serious doubts will be raised over him seeing out his three-year contract," reports The Sunday Times.

"Schumacher needs a car that changes direction sharply, which has so far proved elusive with the Mercedes".

His attempt at creating that artificially has worsened his problems, if the observations of a former F1 technical director are accurate: "Michael always liked a car with a positive turn-in. He was at his fastest with no understeer. If a car inherently understeers then you can only get it balanced by artificially degrading the rear grip. This means less overall grip and Michael's car in Shanghai had visibly awful traction, making me suspect that he has screwed up the rear just to try and get it to turn in."

Sourced via planetf1.com